Hero Enslaved
by smartjingle
Summary: The final battle occurs and Harry is cast with a mysterious curse. Drama ensues, Unexpected romance is found. Snarry. Rating MAY increase. Next chapter 3 in progress!
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer**: The characters in this fan fiction does not belong to this particular poor, uneducated, aspiring author, it belongs to a certain, rich, successful author somewhere around the globe.

**A/N**: This is my first fic posted on here! I have had many, many inspiring ideas, and half-finished fics written, but they either wrote themselves into a corner (I have no part in that!) or lost inspiration. This one however, came to me in its entirety. (I got up every two minutes to jot down ideas while lying in bed at 2am!) I have already planned for it to be a two- or three- part novel length epic fic. :) So enjoy without worries! I'm hoping to update once a week or bi-weekly, on Thursdays.

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The sounds of the battle roared around Harry, who was hardly aware of the fighting, the duelling, and the hexing. He was focussed only on the person standing in front of him; Voldemort. His green eyes narrowed as he focused on the loathsome figure standing before him; his pale-white complexion and blood-red eyes furthered his anger. This was the reason for his unhappiness. This was the reason why he must kill him.

"Come to kill me, young Potter?" Voldemort smirked, which looked like a grimace on his snake-like face, "I am the Dark Lord. You'll never succeed in your pitiful endeavour. Join me now or die tonight."

"No, I think not, Tom Riddle," Harry replied calmly despite the storm of war raging about them. He levelled his wand at his target, "I have power you know not of."

Voldemort cackled, tears of laughter forming in his eyes. "A boy who wants to best the evilest, most powerful wizard of all time? You must be joking. I'll end this quickly, shall I? _Avada Kedavra_!"

The curses began to fly between the two wizards. Flashes of angry red and deadly green shot out from the ends of the brother wands, each not willing to hurt the bearer of the other. The duel was intense, both participants equally matched, Harry with his youthful vigour, and Voldemort with his expertise and precision. A winner was nowhere in sight. Harry and Voldemort were both panting from exertion of the long duel, when finally Harry spotted a gap in Voldemort's defence and sent a body-binding curse. Long tendrils of thick, black rope wound themselves around the Dark Lord's body, successfully binding his wand hand behind his back, preventing him from uttering any more Dark spells.

A flash of shock and fear passed over his eyes, but was quickly concealed with a sneer. The red eyes glared icily at Harry. "Well done, boy, the old man has taught your worthless self something after all. But considering that you are about to join your dirty-blooded parents, there's not much use for that, is there?" Voldemort laughed, the sound grating harshly against Harry's ears, "You can't even cast an Unforgivable, can you? How absolutely usele-"

"STOP!" Harry bellowed, his uncontrolled wandless magic effectively silencing Voldemort for a moment. "You have no right to make such a statem-"

"Pity that you had no parents, Potter. Here's a taste of what it can be like-"

"_Avada-_"

"_«__Obsequium Humanus Mancipium!__»__"_

"_-Kedavra_!"

A jet of green light hit Voldemort right in the chest, blasting him up four feet into the air. His lifeless body fell down, hitting the ground with a thud. Harry was pushed back by the force of the unknown spell Voldemort had casted. He felt millions of tiny claws peeling at his skin, his throat, and his eyes. He turned to his right, meeting the eyes of one Severus Snape, the one who had cast the Killing Curse. Suddenly, all went black.

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**A/N**: Review + Suggestions = Love? Please give a newbie writer some loving and drop one by! This has also not been beta-ed, so if some nice person wants to do that, I'd be delighted. :)


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N**: As promised, come Thursday, come new Chapter! (I know I'm technically one day early, but to make it fair for readers around the globe, I decided to post it!) I'm just getting the hang of the formatting, so, sorry if it's not working well yet. I'm not very clear as to what Beta-ing entails yet, so this one is edited myself. Also, from now on, replies to reviews and my own comments/musings will be displayed at the end of the chapter. I don't like it when there's a block of text before I can start reading the chapter (at least for me anyways.) Enjoy!

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With a groan, Harry's eyes fluttered open, his unfocussed pupils making the room look rather fuzzy and distorted. However, judging from the high, ornate ceiling, he figured that he was back in the infirmary at Hogwarts. '_What a surprise_,' he thought, with a roll of his eyes. He shifted his head to the side table to grab his glasses, and smiled when he saw the large pile of presents: chocolate frogs, Bertie's Every Flavour Beans, and messages from his friends. As he reached for a pumpkin tart, he noticed his bandaged hand, and the memory of the battle jumped back to the forefront of his mind.

It had been a long and harsh battle, lasting three days and two nights. A downpour had beated down on both the Order and the Death Eaters the entire time, as if the force of nature was sending its disapproval of the war. However, that made the drenched grounds thoroughly muddy and slippery, and all the much harder to see one's opponents. He had seen many friends go down. Ginny Weasley, Seamus Finnegan, Dean Thomas… There were just too many to be named. If he could go back, he would reverse their deaths, put himself in their places to save them all if he could.

Harry chocked back a sob. He had failed them, all of them. He wasn't even the one who ended the Dark Lord's reign. He couldn't save even his friends, those he considered family. He really doesn't deserve to live.

Dragging himself from his self-pitying thoughts, he mulled over the final curse that Voldemort had shot at him. He couldn't hear it properly over the loud din of the battle, but he was almost certain that it had been uttered in Parseltongue. In that case, it meant that no one could have understood the curse even if they were in Voldemort's vicinity. Dammit. He didn't even know what that stupid curse may do to him. He concluded that it must be a curse that acted over a period of time, since he couldn't feel the effects of the curse anymore.

Suddenly, the door to the infirmary banged open, a red-faced Hermione appeared, dragging an apologetic-looking Ron by the hand. Madame Pomfrey immediately tried to shoo them out, but the stubborn glint in Hermione's eyes meant that Poppy was either in for a very long argument in which she'd win anyways, or just let her through and they would both be happy. When the elder medi-witch sighed and snapped "Ten minutes only!", Hermione smiled brilliantly and bounced towards Harry's bed, Ron trailing sheepishly behind her.

"Harryyy! You're alright!" Harry was engulfed in a hug so tight that he could swear that many of his vital organs stopped working for a few terrifying seconds. Instead, he smiled over her shoulder at Ron while trying to pry her deadly tentacles comme arms away from his delicate larynx.

"Good to see you up, mate," Ron said after Harry had disentangled his body from Hermione's arms, and slugged Harry on the shoulder, missing Harry's slight wince of pain. "We were, er, Hermione was _very_ worried about you." Harry and Ron rolled their eyes while Hermione looked ready to reprimand them were it not for Harry's condition. "I knew you'd make it through though, you have some bloody good luck," Ron grinned.

"Oh Harry," Hermione gushed, but didn't try to squeeze the little bit of life in Harry out, much to Harry's relief. "You were out like a light for three weeks! Classes already started too. That means you missed quite a lot." She nibbled on her lip, looking decidedly worried that Harry would be lacking in his studies.

"Don't worry mate, I'm sure Hermione's going to make sure you're prepared for the N.E.W.T.S and all that once you're free." Ron grinned, "Hell, she's given me a colour-coded study table already!" Harry and Ron exchanged secret smiles, remembering that the last time Hermione had given them study tables for the O.W.L.S, they had shredded the papers and fed them to Buckbeak the Hippogriff, who seemingly had an palate for coloured paper.

"But don't worry, during that time, I did some research on-"

Harry smiled and relaxed. It was good to have his friends around him. Ron was being his old mischievous self, and Hermione was, with her constant research, also back to normal. His life seemed almost perfectly compl-

"Are you listening Harry?" Hermione snapped, a little exasperated, "Honestly! Men have an attention span shorter than that of flobberworms! I was talking about the spell Voldemort used on you."

"What?" Harry snapped to attention. "The curse?"

"Yes, Harry, the curse." Hermione enunciated, as if talking to a small child. "Do you remember anything about it?"

"A little I guess, not too much. It was…" Harry hesitated, and screwed his eyebrows in concentration, "Purple! Or pink, with silvery sparks!"

Hermione sighed again, and Ron looked decidedly uncomfortable. "What?" Harry asked, oblivious.

"Well," Hermione said, dragging the word out, "We were standing right to your left, and we saw that spell too. It was purple with what looked like glowing silver strands. It was cast in Parseltongue though. Any idea what he might have said?"

Harry though back to the night. "Sometime like, Manicipi..Humanus?"

Hermione blanched, her face totally white, and asked in a shaking voice, "D-d-did you look at him when he cast the spell?" Even Ron looked a little frightened.

If Ron, the most dense and oblivious person ever, was frightened, then it must truly be something to worry about. "No," recalled Harry, "My eyes were closed."

Hermione looked relieved, "Who did you look at first, right after the curse?"

"Errr… Snape. He cast the final Killing Curse." Harry was starting to feel a little uncomfortable with all the questions. He didn't even have time to recall the events of those days for himself and to mourn for the loss of every downed member of the Order, even though Ron and Hermione already had had three weeks to think it out.

"Blimey. mate! That's almost as bad as-" Ron started to say, when Hermione slapped her hand over his mouth.

"_Professor_ Snape isn't half as bad as Voldemort," she said coldly, glaring at Ron when he flinched at the name, "In fact, this could work to your advantage Harry," she looked back at Harry anxiously, "In getting better."

"Snape? Help me? Who are you kidding Hermione? Snape would rather cut out his tongue then help me!" Harry practically shouted at his friend. Hermione was usually very perceptive and intelligent, but she was being a dunderhead right now. "Hello? Are you insane?"

"No, I'm not Harry," Hermione looked quite sad, "Now that you're his-" Her eyes bulged out, showing their whites. She pressed her lips together severely, looking like a toady version of McGonagall.

"What? I'm his what?" Harry's expression turned from one of confused to one of suspicion. He turned his gaze to Ron and his voice lowered, chilling the room when he whispered with intense dislike, "I'm his what?"

Ron gulped, his face white as plaster, his freckles standing out against his pale face. He turned, frightened, towards Hermione for help. However, at the moment, Hermione looked equally as scared, perfectly aware that Harry was the destroyer of Voldemort, and thus could wipe the two of them out without lifting a finger.

Ron turned back to Harry. He was known for being blunt, right? "Er, you're his mate, mate."

Harry looked confused again, "What's a mate-mate? Is it some kind of pet? Because if it is, I can assure you that I-"

"No Harry," Hermione interrupted, "What Ron meant to say is that you're his mate. Professor Snape's, er, mate."

"MATE?!" The sound loudly echoed several times in the large, deserted room.

Hermione sighed again. "The spell Voldemort casted is a derivative of a spell used in the 17th and 18th centuries in the Wizarding world to bind wives to their husbands. At the time, women were regarded as inferior," Hermione pursed her lip at that, but continued, "and were practically 'enslaved' by their husbands. Since this was the time of arranged marriages and all, many of the women were unwilling. Oftentimes, the husband used the curse with Darker variations that would cause the women to suffer if she betrayed her husband."

Hermione took a deep breath, having said all that in one go, and carried on, "Voldemort probably used the curse on you to prevent you from killing him, at least without dying yourself, because he foolishly thought that you were the only one capable of that. Obviously, he was proven wrong." Hermione smiled a little, but the smile quickly turned into a slight frown, "However, it does mean that you're now, er, bonded to Snape, since he was the first person you saw after the curse."

Harry had trouble wrapping his mind around this new revelation. Here he was, in the infirmary, healing. Once he was better, he was supposed to go out there and enjoy life for the first time. He _never_ enjoyed life, not in his eleven years under the Dursley's constant abuse, or his six-and-a-half years at Hogwarts with the looming threat of death over his head. After the war, he was supposed to do whatever he wanted! But here he was, ostensibly tied down to Snape of all people! _The_ person he despised the most in the entire _history_ of the Wizarding world, now that Voldemort is gone.

Ron had zoned out during Hermione's little speech, but spoke up again when Harry seemed to go off into a daze. "Hey mate, it's better than bonding to that…" with a stare from Hermione, he mumbled, "V-Voldemort. I mean, er, you know, er…" He trailed off. He really couldn't find a positive side to this arrangement and he knew that Harry thought the same way.

"Harry, you should be happy with your luck. If you had bonded to Voldemort, he might have dragged you into death with him, or forced you to revive him by giving your life."

Harry laughed bitterly, "I wonder why Snape hasn't taken advantage of that. Wouldn't he love it if I just got up and died?"

Hermione pretend-swatted him. "No he wouldn't! He saved you again, didn't he? As hard as it is for you two to believe, he _is_ part of the Order. He's on our side, Harry."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Right. I'd still rather not bond to a man who would like my head on a platter for dinner."

"He doesn't know about the bond yet, but sooner or later Dumbledore will tell him about it." Hermione said, "We just wanted you to know before him, so, you know, you can prepare a little for…"

Harry grinned. His friends at least cared enough about him to warn him. "Thanks guys, I really appreciate you coming down here to visit me. I-"

"TEN MINUTES IS UP!" Madame Pomfrey's voice boomed from her office, "OUT! NOW!"

Hermione and Ron hastily bid their goodbyes and left, promising to visit Harry again soon. Harry waved to them as they hustled out the door, watching Poppy as she quickly locked the door and warded it against further intruders.

Harry leaned back into his pillow. Even though he was in a very precarious situation to say the least, at least he had friends to depend on, and a pillow to sleep on, and-

Poppy found her charge asleep when she returned with a set of healing potions for Harry, and her usually stern expression softened as she regarded the young man's face. His scar was still there even after Voldemort's demise, but his hair is a bit longer now, and less unruly. His face was sharper, the angles more defined. He was definitely not a child anymore. She sighed. Despite the fact that his visits to the infirmary meant loads of work for her, she grew to be rather fond of him. The thought that the child who grew up half inside the infirmary is turning into a man tugged at her heart. She set the potion bottles down and quickly drew the curtains and left the room before she could embarrass herself.

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**A/N**: Review please! I've baked a fresh batch of cyber cookies just waiting to be devoured by hungry reviewers! ;) Cookies for sernity1806, StarDuchess, Morgana-White, and AngelOfContemplation for reviewing my little prologue! Thanks! :D

Also, I know this chapter seems quite boring and informational, but it's necessary to understand the story from this point on. The spell being cast in Parseltongue is also a very important element. :) Worry not, for some Harry/Severus interaction will happen soon!


	3. Chapter 2

Life really wasn't fair sometimes. Actually, that isn't quite true. It was fair to most people, just not to Harry.

After a tedious two weeks more in the infirmary, Harry was about to burst from boredom when Madame Pomfrey _finally_ allowed him to go back to classes. He had been buried by the deluge of work, and studiously made his way through the catch-up, with plenty of Hermione's help. But even all the hours he spent pouring over ancient history tomes would seem like a broom ride compared to what he was now suffering.

Harry was sitting through Double Potions with the Slytherins. Not only was Snape their teacher, but he was partnered with Draco Malfoy of all people. Now with Voldemort gone for good, the Gryffindors and Slytherins got along better, albeit only slightly. However, that nonverbal truce certainly did not apply to the Slytherin Ice Prince when it comes to the Boy-Who-Lived. The blond-haired git took the every opportunity of their pairing to point out and maliciously laugh at every single mistake that Harry was suffering through with his potion. Combine that with Snape's constant snarky criticism and biased point reductions and that equalled to a very annoyed, frustrated and on-edge Harry.

Much to his dismay, Snape swivelled his way towards his table again. The Potion Master's sneer was fixed in place as he swooped over to the table, looking much like an oversized bat in Harry's opinion. He took one look into Harry's cauldron and smirked, his eyes dancing with mirth, "Ten points from Gryffindor for being unable to make a potion that a first year dunderhead would have been capable of."

Harry clenched his fists and bit down a retort that almost came out. He couldn't afford to lose his cool with Snape if he wanted to pass Potions and make it into Auror school. He tried for a calm smile, which turned out to be more like a forced grimace than anything.

Snape turned a critical eye towards Harry, raking over his form, "And five more for dressing inappropriately for class." He turned briskly away, and went back to his "swivel-swoop-snark" routine with the other unfortunate students.

Harry looked down at his attire. Sure his shirt was untucked a little, and his robes not buttoned to the very top. Okay, his tie was too loose, and his jumper might have seen better days, but that wasn't a reason for Snape to take off points! Wait, scratch that, Snape used _every_ reason to take off points off of _him_. He sighed and went back to chopping his Warblewort roots, ignoring the snide comments coming from the grey-eyed Slytherin to his right.

After what seemed like an eternity, the bell sounded, dismissing the students from class. Harry quickly stuffed his textbook, quill and parchment into his book bag to ready himself for a beeline to the door.

"Potter. Stay after class." A cold voice sounded from the teacher's desk just as he was about to duck out of the double doors. Swearing silently, he turned back towards the class and made his way to Snape's desk with trepidation.

"Potter. It has come to my attention that you have been cursed during the battle, correct?" Without waiting for an answer, he continued, "The Headmaster requires your presence in his office, seven o'clock, tomorrow evening. Don't be late." He curled his lip, his eyes gleamed a shade darker than onyx. "Dismissed."

Harry turned and fled from the room, his heart pounding in his chest. Was it just him, or did Snape turn decently good-looking? His hair had been washed, and now looked satiny soft instead of greasy. His jaw was well-defined, and his nose wasn't as large as others proclaim it to be. Harry shook his head, pushing those thoughts out. And the fluttering in his stomach must have been the queasy lunch he had. 'That must be it,' he thought, as he hurried towards his next class.

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"Enter," the Headmaster's voice resounded from within his office.

Harry carefully pushed open the door, his jaw dropping when he found Snape sitting in one of Dumbledore's chairs as well. Didn't the Headmaster want to see him? "Ah, sorry for interrupting sir, I'll wait outside until you're done."

Dumbledore smiled mysteriously, eyes twinkling. "Harry, please, have a seat." He waved his wand and a comfortable looking chair appeared next to the scowling Potion's Master. "Severus here is just early." At the mention of his name, Snape crossed his arms over his chest and glared daggers at both Harry and the Headmaster.

Harry cautiously took a seat down next to his teacher, who was practically radiating with displeasure and contempt for the boy next to him. Harry decided to be the bigger person this time, and turned to Dumbledore with what he hoped was a helpful face and asked, "What is the problem, sir?"

"Ah, no problems, my boy, only solutions." The old man winked at Harry. "Tea? Lemon Drops?" Harry politely accepted a few of the sour candies before Dumbledore decided to pass the pleasantries.

"Harry," he said, seriousness evident in his voice, "Your friends, Miss. Granger and Mr. Weasley have informed you the extent of your curse, I presume?"

"Yes, sir," Harry shifted a nervous glance at Snape, who was still brooding darkly.

"Good!" The Headmaster smiled again. "Then I expect you and Severus to work out this little ... animosity between the two of you." He leaned back in his comfortable sofa chair, smiling at the two currently thoroughly shocked boys sitting before him.

Harry was first to recover his jaw from the ground. "What do you mean, Headmaster?" He glanced at Snape again, who was looking his leanest and meanest. "I don't think that we're suited to get along, sir."

Snape nodded curtly and didn't say anything. Harry was surprised that the two of them agreed on something for once. That thought seemed to go through Dumbledore's ever-conniving mind at the same time.

"See boys? Something you have in common already. Perfect." He smiled over his half-moon spectacles at both Harry and Severus. "Now boys, play nice. Your bond requires it."

Stupid Dumbledore. Stupid Bonds. Stupid Snape who just had to be in the way of Harry's line of vision when he got hit by that stupid, stupid curse. Harry felt entirely… Stupid was an understatement.

"Thank you, _sir_. Ifthat is all…" Harry stood up to go in such a rush that his chair almost tipped backwards. Snape looked relieved and also began to stand when Dumbledore spoke again. "Boys, I know that it may be hard for you to come to terms with your history," Harry and Severus both smirked at this one, "but I require that you do so. Both of your lives may be at stake if you do not cooperate." Dumbledore looked grim. "Should you not find between yourselves the initiative to get along, I will have to step in." The Headmaster smiled again, eyes twinkling. "I would be more than happy to accommodate you in my quarters should you need-"

"Sir," Snape spoke for the first time that evening, "I believe that I am perfectly capable of creating a-", he looked at Harry with distaste, "workable partnership with Potter should it be required." He directed his next words to Harry. "7 o'clock, my classroom." he snapped succinctly, quickly getting up and leaving the room with a curt goodbye to the Headmaster.

Dumbledore sighed. "Harry, I must ask that you-"

"It is understood," Harry said stiffly, also standing up, "I will be taking my leave." He turned and left the room. The sombre-faced Headmaster began to beam. He directed his smile at Fawkes, who was cooing softly from her perch. "Yes Fawkes, I believe the attraction is mutual."

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**A/N**: I'm making good progress with this. Sorry if this chapter is a little short, but to fit the next scene in would make it rather long. **Thank you to all those who reviewed the last chapter**! As promised, +hands out cyber cookies+ :)

Another note, the next part shall be from Severus' perspective. I think I'll begin to switch between his and Harry's to spice it up a little and clear misunderstandings which may occur later due to the course of events! :)

Alex A: Thank you for your input! Unfortunately, I did overlook that. +sheepish grin+ However, I did not want to turn their first meeting into a sob party, and that would have really slowed down some more heated development between Harry and Severus. Harry was out for almost a month, and the funerals and burials had, presumably, already taken place. Besides, Ginny was Harry's supposed love, and I had to kill her somehow so he and Severus could be together. :) Harry _will_ mourn for those lost in the war, but since he's so busy with school work, he did not yet have time to do so.


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